North Quay, Brisbane

An old photo of North Quay, coloured for a postcard

North Quay is a location in the Brisbane central business district and the name of street in the same area, running along the Brisbane River from an intersection near Makerston Street to the top of the Queen Street.

Location

Monument to commemorate the landing of John Oxley in 1823

The small locality is roughly the area of four city blocks in length, from the Ann Street north of Brisbane Square to Queens Gardens and includes the Conrad Treasury Casino.

A riverside bikeway leading to the University of Queensland and the western suburbs from the Victoria Bridge has been built on the river at North Quay.

The location has a historical record in Queensland because it was a landing point during the first European exploration of the river in 1823 and later in 1825, the Moreton Bay penal colony at Redcliffe relocated here, establishing the first permanent European settlement in what was to become the state of Queensland.^[1] Captain Henry Miller was responsible for the settlement transfer, which was due to unfriendly aborigines, biting insects and a lack of reliable fresh water at Redcliffe. Although North Quay is most likely not the exact location selected by John Oxley and Sir Thomas Brisbane during scouting expeditions in November 1824, the high banks at North Quay proved to be highly suitable, well above the flood levels that plagued Brisbane in subsequent years.^[1]

Street

The road can be congested on week days with traffic from Coronation Drive using part of the street to enter the city. The road also feeds traffic onto the Riverside Expressway, one end of the Pacific Motorway.

Towards the southerly end of the street traffic is restricted to bus only. This is where the Commonwealth Law Courts building is located, close to Brisbane Square. North Quay then leads into William Street and the government precinct further south along the river.

Heritage listings

North Quay has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Sections of Albert St, George St, William St, North Quay, Queen's Wharf Rd: Early Streets of Brisbane^[2]
• Coronation Drive: Coronation Drive retaining wall^[3]
• William Street: William Street retaining wall^[4]

Major intersections

• Queen Street
• Adelaide Street
• Ann Street
• Riverside Expressway
• Turbot Street
• Tank Terrace
• Herschel Street
• Makerston Street
• Saul Street / William Jolly Bridge

See also

• Northbank (Brisbane)
• North Quay 1 & 2 Ferry Wharf

References

1. Hadwen, Ian; Janet Hogan; Carolyn Nolan (2005). Brisbane's historic North Bank 1825 - 2005. Brisbane: Royal Historical Society of Queensland. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-9757615-0-1.
2. "Early Streets of Brisbane (entry 700011)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
3. "Coronation Drive (North Quay) Retaining Wall (entry 600134)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
4. "William Street and Queens Wharf Road retaining walls (entry 600135)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.

External links

Media related to North Quay, Brisbane at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 27°28′08.34″S 153°01′09″E / 27.4689833°S 153.01917°E